WALLIS, Texas - Three family members, including a 3-year-old boy, were killed after their glider crashed into a field in Southeast Texas, authorities said Monday.

The state Department of Public Safety said the crash happened around 5 p.m. Sunday near Wallis, about 40 miles west of Houston.

Officials said the crash killed Fred Blair, 68, of Wallis, Matilda Blair, 32, and Andrew Blair, 3, both of Houston. Trooper Erik Burse said the Blairs are related but their precise relationship was not available.

The glider was registered to the Greater Houston Soaring Association, which runs a recreational gliding program. Fred Blair was an experienced glider pilot and had been affiliated with the Soaring Society of America for several years.

Federal Aviation Administration officials said the glider went into a nose dive near the association’s gliderport in Wallis almost immediately after it was released from the tow aircraft, and was not able to recover.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

Gliders are engineless aircraft that are towed by planes to at least 2,000 feet and then released to fly on their own.